


Things Hoped For

by kennydoll13



Category: Falling Kingdoms- Morgan Rhodes
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-09 20:07:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1996131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kennydoll13/pseuds/kennydoll13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nic is hopelessly in love with his best friend, Cleo, who just so happens to be the Princess of Auranos. While he attempts to keep his feelings in check, Cleo is keeping a secret, even from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So there's like, absolutely no fanfics for Falling Kingdoms and I felt that needed to be corrected. It's such an awesome series! This is mostly about Nic, cause he's a perfect little angel, and he needs some love. This is all set about four months before the events of the first book.

"Anything else I can help you with, sire?"

"No, that's all, Nic," the king said with a wave of his hand. "You go enjoy the evening."

With a nod and a brief smile, the red-headed boy bowed out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He almost immediately ran into the familiar blonde who was hurrying down the hallway.

"Whoa!" He backed away right before they collided.

"Nic!" she exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. "What are you doing?"

He smiled at this, and took note of the flush in her cheeks, the slight frizz in her hair from running around the palace. "What am I doing? The princess of Auranos is gallivanting about the castle and running into poor defenseless squires, and she's curious about what they're up to?"

She laughed, a clear, sweet sound echoing throughout the marble hall. "Not squires. There's only been one."

"And I've had the misfortune for it to be me."

"I'm afraid so."

He began to walk ahead and Cleo followed him. "I haven't seen you in ages," she said after a moment.

He felt the same way, but instead replied with, "it was only yesterday."

"But I didn't talk to you then, did I?"

He shook his head. "Perhaps I didn't talk to you," he teased, and glanced at her face to catch a glimpse of her smile.

"Oh, is that so?" she shot back. "Nicolo Cassian, you are an impossible friend."

"Well, you, Cleoina Bellos-" he started to say, when she suddenly gasped and looked around frantically before pulling him through a nearby door. When the door was shut, he stood looking at her curiously. "What was that all about?"

Her eyes were wide, and her ear was to the door. The little room was dark, with only one small window on the far wall. "Shh, Nic. I'm trying to listen," she whispered, her eyebrows brought together in concentration.  

As much as watching her act so intense amused him, he still wanted to know why they were in a small storage closet, having to remain quiet. He moved over to her side, and pretended to listen as well. "Cleo?" he whispered, "maybe an explanation?"

She gave him a slightly annoyed look, but answered anyway. "It's Aron. I'm trying to hide."

"Aron!" he repeated. "Well, that's understandable. He's never been a particularly pleasant sort of fellow, has he?"

"No, he hasn't," Cleo agreed, but there was something repressed in her voice, something darker than what he expected.

"Has he... has he done something especially unpleasant, lately?" Nic asked, a bit hesitantly, wanting to know if the stuck-up Lord had done anything to hurt Cleo. Then he thought he might've sounded too intense himself, and added, "or perhaps you're simply not in the mood for tolerating that breath of his."

She smiled, and shot him a look of appreciation. His heart fluttered.

“I’d just rather spend the evening with you, that’s all,” she said.

Sometimes, when she said things like that, it made him believe, for a single moment, that maybe she too had feelings unspoken on. But when she turned back to listening at the door, he had to remind himself that Princess Cleo of Auranos was the most beautiful girl in the entire kingdom, and had no place loving him. Not any more than she already did, at least.

Suddenly, Cleo’s eyes widened, and she took a step back from the door. “Hide!” she hissed, “hide!”

He looked around. “Where?!”

The closet was a tight squeeze, and besides them, held only boxes of old brass and silver, tarnished from disuse.

“Um...” she began, when the door swung open, revealing a very confused looking maid, and, behind her, Lord Aron. He had only been passing by when the maid had made her discovery.

“Oh!” she said, a little hiccup of surprise, “please, excuse me, princess. Nicolo.”

Cleo hurried to correct the situation. “No, no, no, no!” she said, stopping the maid from closing the door. “Um, we weren’t... you didn’t...”

Nic looked in between all of the onlookers, and then spoke. “Lord Aron!” he exclaimed, “You’re a lucky man.”

Aron was practically glaring at Cleo’s best friend. “Lucky?”

“Of course,” Nic said, climbing out of the closet. “There’s no way you could’ve found us if the door hadn’t been opened. But, no matter. When it’s your turn, we’ll find you easily, I’m sure. And that _is_ a challenge!”

Aron and the maid, who had yet to leave, both wore expressions of extreme confusion, while Cleo was having difficulty hiding her smile. By now, she was used to Nic’s wild stories.

“When it’s _my_ turn?” Aron asked, glancing between Nic and Cleo.

“We take turns in hide and seek, Aron,” he explained, exasperatedly.

“Have you forgotten the rules again?” Cleo asked, before giving Nic a sidelong look. “Nic, I’m afraid we might have to go over them one more time.”

It was so much more fun when Cleo played along. Nic smiled, and went and clapped Aron over the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said, beginning to walk away with Cleo next to him. “You’ll get the hang of it eventually.”

“But, but I-” Aron fumbled for words, and Cleo tapped Nic on the back. He glanced at her, and she smiled at him conspiratorially. _Thank you_ , she mouthed. He grinned back.

As they walked down the hallway, still attempting to convince Aron, who smelled like he’d drunk his weight in wine, that they were all involved in a game of hide and seek, Nic could only think that he was glad that he had had the misfortune to be the only squire Cleo ran into at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :)   
> I'll attempt to post more frequently.

"Do you remember when we convinced that poor guard that you had suddenly and unexpectedly died?" Nic asked Mira as they, with Cleo, left dinner.

She smiled wickedly. "Of course! Who could forget Cleo's exceptional acting skills?" His sister nudged the princess, who looked startled at first and then nodded, putting on a smile.

Mira seemed not to notice.

"You were _brilliant_ ," she went on, laughing. "Nic, you didn't do poorly, either."

"Yes, well, even Emilia was somewhat convinced, so I'd say I did better than 'not poorly'."

Mira rolled her eyes and looked at Cleo for an opinion, but she was stuck in her thoughts again. This time, Mira caught on.

"What's the matter, Cleo?" She asked, shooting Nic a worried glance. "Are you feeling alright?"

The princess's hair was pulled neatly back, with the exception of one blonde strand that was curled at her temple. Her eyes were downcast and her eyebrows pushed together in thought. Nic thought that she was always beautiful, but her look lately had not been... _Cleo_. The person he knew was full of energy and always ready for something new. This was not the face of that person. Defensively, she rearranged her expression to reply.

"Of course I am, Mira, don't be stupid," she snapped, but then lamented when she saw her friend's face. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just- just a tad tired, I suppose. I think I'll go to bed early."

"That might be best," Mira agreed with a sympathetic smile.

"I'll see both of you later," Cleo said, and then hurried down the hall.

"What about you, Nic? What are you going to do?" His sister asked after a moment of silence.

He turned his gaze away from the fleeing princess and cleared his throat. "Well, I won't be spending any more time with _you,_ that's for sure." He said it overbearingly, so that she knew he was kidding, and then began to walk away.

"Nic!" She called, in an exasperated tone only a sister could master. "You're a rotten brother."

He waved without turning around, and took the same hallway that Cleo had, hoping to flag her down and ask what had really been the problem. He knew her, and he knew that she had not just been "a tad tired". Nic turned another corner, hoping that this was the way Cleo had gone, and then stopped.

There was Emilia, biting her lower lip through a smile, glancing behind her as if she were being followed. There was no one there. It took her a few seconds to notice Nic, standing right in front of her. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Nic!"

"Hello," he greeted her.

She was suddenly nervous, and stepped a bit closer. "You didn't.. Um... You didn't see...?"

Nic lowered his eyebrows. "See what?"

She relaxed slowly, and then smiled. "Nothing. I only meant, have you seen my sister?"

"A few minutes ago. I think she went to her room."

"Thank you, Nic. That's- that's all I wanted to know."

"I'm glad I could help?"

Her behavior was strange, and Nic wasn't sure how to react. She smiled at him as she moved past, patting him on the shoulder like she was rewarding a puppy.

There was definitely something off about _both_ of the Bellos girls, and that didn't sit well with Nic. For Emilia, she seemed to be doing better than usual, but for Cleo... He couldn't let this go uninvestigated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I feel so bad for waiting so dang long to update. I know this isn't a long chapter but I promise I'm going to work on it more. Also, I realize that it's not completely canon. But to me, this is how it could've gone down.

Emilia walked up from across the garden, and Nic looked up from the bench he sat on. She hadn't said anything, but he could already tell that she was in her chipper mood again.

"Princess," he greeted her with a nod.

She smiled. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, just paperwork," he shrugged, shuffling it around.

"Thought it would be nicer outside. Can I help you with something?"

She shook her head, smiling, and then sat down across from him. Nic waited for her to speak, but she said nothing. When it had become so uncomfortable that he could no longer stand it, he broke the silence.

"Emilia, are you sure there's nothing on your mind?"

She looked at him and laughed. "Nic! Don't act so worried!"

He shifted, feeling himself blushing. "...I'm not."

"Nic," she turned on him. "Are you in love with anyone?" The question made him freeze, and she laughed.

"Come on, Nic. There must be someone," she prodded.

Nic shook his head, looking down at his papers. "I don't think I can say."

Immediately he chastised himself. He should've denied it, not given her reason to question him further!

"Oh, Nic, please! I've known you since you were a baby. I should think I'd know if you were hiding something."

"Well the same applies to you! I know there's something going on."

She looked at him for a long moment, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lip.

"You're right," she finally said. "And it's killing me, not to tell."

Nic perked up. He'd succeeded in changing the subject, and now Emilia was going to open up to him. "Not to tell what?" he asked.

She leaned in close, eyeing the guard standing a good fifty feet away, by the door. "Do you know Simon Ranus?" She asked, never taking her eyes off of his.

Nic kept getting taken by surprise. "The king's guard?"

She smiled, nodding, and then her face fell, twisting into concern. "Oh no," she breathed. "What am I doing?"

Nic sat up straighter. "Emilia-"

"Nic, I can't tell you anything else. I'm sorry, I- I suppose I got too excited."

"Princess, it's alright," Nic tried to assure her. "It's just me. I would never tell anyone who you're in love with."

Her eyes widened. "Don't speak so loudly!" She hissed.

Nic looked around, ducking his head, but there was still no one close enough to hear. "Sorry, Princess."

She sighed, and put her head in her hands. "Nic, what am I doing?"

He shifted uncomfortably. He'd always been Cleo's best friend, but Emilia had never opened up to him like this.

“Please don’t worry, Emilia,” Nic said. “You know I wouldn’t tell anyone of this.”

She looked at him for a long moment, as if gauging to see how true his words were.

“I know you wouldn’t,” she finally agreed. “But I never should have told you, all the same. It was very wrong of me. Please excuse me,” she breathed.

Nic stood up as she left, wanting to call her back but not knowing what to say. Finally he sat down again and sighed. While he'd wanted to talk to the Bellos girls about what was troubling them, he hadn't realized it would be this confusing.


End file.
